I am keeping myself busy by doing yard work. My own yard, and some of the neighbors' too. 😂 Any day that the temps are above 50, you will find me out there looking like a hot mess with a rake. It's good times!
I live in a small community where most people know most people, and most people have now come out of hibernation.
Some have resumed their daily walks. "Heyyyyyy Bethhhhhh. Hiii Todd!! Phew! Finally right?!?!?!", I yell from the top of my yard, with my fists planted on my hips, chest out, head to the sky taking in a deep breath of fresh spring air. "Ahhhhh yes! This is what we've waited 7 months for!!!"
Some neighbors I'll meet on the street and hold them up (I tell them it's their cool down period) chatting about whatever for several minutes. It's nice to connect with other humans again!
The waterfall emerged from winter basically unscathed. I am really surprised it held itself together. I'd go and check on it from time to time over the months, but it kept trucking along, looking all beautiful and stuff. I did some adjusting of rocks that went rogue, but all in all, I think I just have to wait for things to bloom so that I can add more plants.
I stand back, think, and listen. There will be some expanding this summer. DARE I SAY!
I've already completely cleared out one side yard. It's a big hill on the corner of the property, leading down to the street. It's been about 8 years since it has seen a rake. This time it saw a plastic rake, metal rake, a leaf blower, and loppers of all sizes. I probably added an additional 1k square feet to our property.
Conveniently, the people next door are selling their house so I've been working with "Brother Tom" to clear out the common space between our houses. It's a hill, too, of course. I have piles of limbs, branches and sticks, even after snapping loads and filling my metal yard cart. We are blessed to have such beautiful land where we live. We abut a forest and have many large, gorgeous trees with rocks everywhere!!!! Some big ones, too. There is a tree root wrapped around a large rock out there. Nature is so fascinating!
I also built a composter, and am using some strapping I found behind the shed to outline a vegetable garden. Who even am I?
Besides the black gnats that literally eat me alive, I don't mind this kind of labor. It keeps my mind busy, and there are beautiful rewards at the end. Well, except for what I endured the other day when I emersed myself in the backyard project. As I was pulling the dead branches and yanking dead bushes from their roots, I grabbed a thin, long branch and tucked it behind another so I could walk through. Just as I passed, the branch released itself and snapped back on my left hand. 😨That stopped me dead in my tracks. I froze, looked at my hand as it began to swell and thought dang, I'm not done in this area yet!
It was also pouring rain at the time.
Yep, tank top, shorts, sneakers, and a baseball cap, soaking wet with one hand dripping blood, that bitch branch in the other, walking to the burn pile.
this post brought to you by Tylenol and Gabapentin
